MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2997, 23 August 1911, Page 67

MULTUM IN PARVO.

"Welcome" was the inscription over the entrance to Chiswick Police Station, which was lavishly decorated for the Coronation, Eight churches have stood on the site of St. Paul's Cathedral. The first one was built in the year a.d. 223. The long-familia<r coloured globes in chemists' windows were first displayed by the Moorish druggists of Arabia and Spain. —On behalf of the French Republic, President Fallieres has sent to the _ E-ing and Queen a magnificent service of Sevres china. -y The population of British Columbia, which has an area much larger than the German Empire, is only 400,000. —lt is no uncommon thing in California So dine and dance inside the trunk of one or other of the enormous trees which are so common there, some of which are over 30ft high and 90ft in circumference Half a century ago the custom of washing the bride's feet at a wedding was quite common all over the borderland of Scotland. It was usually performed the evening before the happy event. Generally, the companions of the bride were the performers. A petrified forest, covering an area of 100 square miles, has existed for centuries near Billings, in Arizona. Thousands and thousands of petrified logs strew the ground, and represent beautiful shades of , pink, purple, red, grey, blue, and yellow. One of the stone trees spans a gulf 40ft wide. The wearing of hate in Parliament by the members is. explained back to the time when those who were summoned to\ legislate,, or, rather, to authorise the King to make levees, .came in wearing helmets, which were not easily removed. Every Japanese barrack has a gymnasium, and the Japanese soldiers rank among the beet gymnasts in the world. In half a minute they can scale a 14ft wall by simply bounding on each other's shoulders, one man supporting two or three others. the custom to place on a man's tombstone the symbols of his trade; Thus, a sugarcane would decorate the grave of a grocer ; an axe and a saw, with hammer and nails, would be found on that of a carpenfreir; an awl and a hammer on a shoemaker's grave, and so on. The greatest whirlpool is the maelstrom off the Norway coast. It is an eddy between, the mainland and an island, and when the current is in one direction and wind in another, no ship can withstand the fury of the waves. Whales and sharks have been east ashore and killed. The current is estimated to run 30 miles in hour. Among the many jiatural curiosities and beauties of North Ireland is Oarrick-a-rede, an isolated rock, separated from the mainland by a chasm 60ft widei, and more than 80ft deep. Here the salmon, are intercepted in their retreat to the rivers. A rude bridge of ropes is thrown across, which, protected by a single jrope Ir'aifc, swings about in the most uncomfortable manner, often rendering the using of it a dangerous feat in stormy weather, save to the natives, who cross it with the utmost indifference. —At Polstead, Suffolk, there still exists a "gospel oak" which is over 2000 years old. The oak has a girth of 36ft, and, although the " gospel oaks" generally stood on the boundaries of parishes, this tree stands in. the centre of the village. " Gospel oaks" at one time studded the country, taking their names from the fact that tbsy served as stations from which the Christian missionaries preached to the Angles and Saxons 1300 years ago. > Very few ci . the trees now remain, but in some cases it irsi possible to tell vaguely where they sto from the names given to places, such as Gospel Oak. —An attempt is being made to providjo low-rented dwellings for the working classes in Paris, and at the same time to demon strato that such buildings as it is desire*:! to build may well return 5 per cent, on the money invested. The Princess de Polignac has put up one such building at a cost of £24,000, which has some very novel features. It has not only a sensational bathhouse with all kinds of douches, but a garden divided into 40 sections, which may be rented for 20 francs a year by any tenants who care to pay for this luxury. Each section measures about 50 square yards, and is supplied with water, so that gardening will be relatively easy. —lt may eeem curious, but it is none the' less a fact, that Lord Avebury was the first person in England to be photographed. Daguerre had called on his father, the late Sir John Lubbock, who was a distinguished scientific author, and a vice-president of the Royal Society. The object of the Frenchman's visit was to explain the nature of his discovery to the elder Lubbock, and to invite his support. While they were talking Daguerre saw Lubbock's young son playing in the garden. He suggested that a daguerrotype should be made of the child as an illustration of the practical value of the discovery. Sir John con santed, and the boy was there and' then daguerrotyped, or, as we say, photographed. —The ancient "dew ponds" of England have their modern counterparts on the Rock of Gibraltar, where drinking water is obtained by the condensation of the abundant dew in specially-prepared basins. The primitive process consists in making a holSow in the ground, land _ filling the bottom with dry straw, over which is placed a layer of clay. On a clear night tho clay cools very rapidly, and the dew is condensed into water in the basin. The pond is improved bv putting a layer of asphalt or Ffortltand fcement under the straw. At Gibraltar the present practice is to use wood instead of straw and sheet iron instead of clay. The United States Consul at Sberbrooke. Canada, states: "The chief mineralogist of the Canadian Geoio'doal Survey has bean studying the olivine-bear-ing rooks of Canada, which often contain asbestos, chromifce, platinum, and, in rome cases, diamonds. Some of his examinations were into chromito ore from the Montreal pit, near Black Lake. He has established beyond all doubt that this olre contains an appreciable proportion of diamonds in small crystals*. The diamonds ara too small to be of use as gems, but there j are go many of them that it is «■ question whether or not it would par I- • ;■.■;,-_ rate them as a by-product jt : the concentration of chromito and sell Sham as i diamond dust, which js much used n. tho | cutting and poliahin*r of diamoni. and . other gome."

Professor Samboh draws attention to the fact that fleas not only are a men ace as regards the dissemination of plag is, but they may also play an important part in the transmission of many _of our more common diseases, not excluding consumption! in. -that foarm known by the namei or scrofula According to the doctor, rateating snakes were introduced into Rome in 291 8.0., when Rome was devastated b.tf the plague. Pliny states that " the Esculapian serpent was imported into Rome from Epidauros; it was kept in publio institutions, and also in private houses." From far back times throughout the East, snakes were kept in houses for the purpose of destroying rats and of preventing rat-con-veyed diseases. Professor Sambon is of opinion that non-venomous rat-snakes are a far better protection against plague than eats and dogs, on account of the fact that they do not harbour fleas nor ai« they likely to convey plague in their own persons as cats, at least, have been credit:,*! with doing.